Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1 eBook

“Akritavrana said, ’Thy journey to this
spot is already known to Rama, whose soul spontaneously
knows everything. And he is in every way well-pleased
with thee, and he will show himself readily to thee.
And the saints who practise penances here, are permitted
to see him on the fourteenth and the eighth day of
the lunar course. On the morrow at the end of
this very night there will set in the fourteenth day
of the lunar course. On that occasion thou wilt
have a sight of him, clad in a sable deerskin, and
wearing his hair in the form of a matted mass.’

“Yudhishthira said, ’Thou hast been a
follower of the mighty Rama, Jamadagni’s son;
thou must, therefore, have been the eye-witness of
all the deeds achieved by him in former days.
I, therefore, request thee to narrate to me how the
members of the military caste were vanquished by Rama
on the field of battle, and what the original cause
of those conflicts was.’

“Akritavrana said, ’With pleasure shall
I recite to thee that excellent story, O Bharata’s
son, O chief of kings, the story of the godlike deeds
of Rama, the son of Jamadagni, who traced his origin
to Bhrigu’s race. I shall also relate the
achievements of the great ruler of the Haihaya
tribe. That king, Arjuna by name, the mighty lord
of the Haihaya tribe was killed by Rama.
He, O Pandu’s son, was endued with a thousand
arms; and by the favour of Dattatreya he likewise
had a celestial car made of gold. And, O protector
of the earth, his rule extended over the entire animated
world, wheresoever located on this earth. And
the car of that mighty monarch could proceed everywhere
in an unobstructed course. And grown resistless
by the virtue of a granted boon, he ever mounted on
that car, trampled upon gods and Yakshas and
saints on all sides round. And all the born beings
wheresoever placed, were harassed by him. Then
the celestials and the saints of a rigidly virtuous
life, met together, and thus spake to Vishnu, the
god of gods, the slayer of demons, and possessed of
prowess that never failed, saying. “O blessed
and revered lord, for the purpose of preserving all
the born beings, it is necessary that Arjuna should
be killed by thee.” And the mighty ruler
of the Haihaya tribe placing himself on his celestial
car, affronted Indra, while that deity was enjoying
himself with Sachi, his queen. Then, O Bharata’s
son, the blessed and the revered god (Vishnu) held
a consultation with Indra, with a view to destroying
Kartavirya’s son. And on that occasion,
all that was for the good of the world of beings, was
communicated by the lord of gods; and the blessed god
worshipped by the world, to do all that was necessary,
went to the delightful Vadari wood which was
his own chosen retreat for practising penances.
And at this very time there lived on the earth a mighty
monarch in the land of Kanyakuvja, a sovereign
whose military force was exceedingly great. And
his name of Gadhi was famous in the world. He,